The subject matter of the present disclosure broadly relates to the art of storage and shelving systems and, more particularly, to barrier panel assemblies dimensioned for support on an associated storage rack as well as storage rack assemblies that include one or more of such barrier panel assemblies.
Known storage and shelving systems commonly include a storage rack that is supported on a base surface, such as the floor of a building or the paved yard of an outside storage facility, for example. The storage rack is typically constructed from numerous structural columns and beams or rails that together form one or more storage bays that are elevated from the base surface. A storage deck is normally supported on the storage rack within each bay and functions as a support surface for the items and materials that are supported on the storage and shelving system. In many cases, the items and materials are palletized to facilitate transfer of the items and materials onto and off of the support surfaces.
Known storage and shelving systems are often arranged such that each bay normally includes a front or aisle opening, a rear opening and one or more side openings. In some cases, a backstop panel can extend across the rear opening of a storage bay and may be useful in substantially inhibiting the inadvertent displacement of items and materials through the rear opening of the bay, such as could occur during transfer of items and materials into and/or out of the storage bay. When employed, conventional backstop panels are commonly secured to the structural components (e.g., columns, beams and/or rails) of the storage rack using a plurality of threaded fasteners. In some cases, holes may need to be formed in the structural components to receive the threaded fasteners, such as may occur in retrofit installations in which backstop panels are being added to an existing storage structure. Additionally, in such cases, the formation of the holes and installation of the threaded fasteners will often be performed under elevated conditions (i.e., installation along storage bays above the base surface), which may lead to increase the care and deliberateness used during the installation process and, thus, undesirably increase the time and cost associated with installation of conventional backstop panels.
Notwithstanding any commercial success of conventional designs, it is believed that a need exists to overcome the foregoing and/or other disadvantages of known constructions while still retaining comparable or, preferably, improving factors such as performance, ease of manufacture, ease of assembly, ease of installation and/or reduced cost of manufacture. Thus, it is believed to be generally desirable to develop new constructions and/or designs that may advance the art of storage and shelving systems.